"Mow to Sew" 



tSte* *S£> <f£» 

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HOW TO SEW 




Manual of Hand Sewing 
teaching All Varieties 
o/Hand Stitches 

used in DRESSMAKING 


PRICE, 25 CENTS 
SENT PREPAID ANYWHERE IN THE POSTAL UNION 

Published by 

National Correspondence School of Dressmaking 

of Des Moines, Iowa, U. S. A. 

Used in connection with their Courses in Dressmaking 









LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

AUG 4 1904 

Copyrtfht Entry 

CLASS a-XXe. No. 

COPY B 



1 



\ v 



A 



National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 



Stye Mnztnpittt 



My mother cut it out for me, 

And started it so I could see; 

And then she turned some edges in 

And let me take it to begin. 

I made it. But I did not know 

How very hard it is to sew. 

I took a long time for that stitch, 

And now it's there, I don't know which 

Is better; but not one is small. 

And they are not alike at all. 

That side was very hard to fix; 

And then the needle always pricks, 

And you must hold it and take care, 

Because the point is always there; 

And knots keep coming, by and by; 

And then, no matter how you try, 

The thread comes out of its old eye; 



But somehow, now I have it done, 
I think It is a prettv one. 



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Correspondence 
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Stjia Hunk rnniatna rnmplrt? tnatrnr- 
tinn on all manner of hann atttrljtnn 
iljat ran pnaaibln; far ltaeo in nrraa- 
maktnn nr plain htnrk nf ang kinn 



P00ttt0tt 



Sewing does not require anyone to sit in a stooped 
or cramped position as that is injurious to the health 
and besides very ungraceful and is apt to cause round 
shoulders. Have your chair drawn up to the table and 
then sit well back in it and hold your work so that 
you will hardly have to stoop your head. If you 
wish your material to be held firmly do not fasten it to 
your knee but fasten it to something on the table or put 
a heavy weight on it. It is really better to have it fast- 
ened higher than your sewing. 

Always buy good quality of needles so that they 
will not bend or break. For white work use long fine 
needles or half long needles. There are special needles 
made for millinery and embroidery. Never use a needle 
that is too large as fine stitches cannot be made with it. 
No. 8 and 9 are good for ordinary sewing and No. 7 for 
basting. 

Do not use too coarse thread. Always thread your 
needle with the end of the thread that you break off next 
the spool to prevent knotting. Do not use too long a 
thread but just about the length of your arm from shoul- 
der to the fingers. Break the thread off from the spool 
but cut it at all other times, never bite or break it. Al- 
ways have a pair of small scissors handy for this purpose. 



National 
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School of 
Dressmaking 



National 
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School of 
Dressmaking 



2Cnnts 

When used, knots must be made very small making 
them by twisting the thread at the end only once. Be 
careful not to let any knots show in your work as noth- 
ing looks so untidy. If the knots cannot be well hidden, 
do not use them, but catch your thread by making two 
small quick over hand stitches, one on top of the other. 
In hemming, knots can always be used as they can be 
well covered. In basting, use knots and always leave 
them on the outside so that they can be easily pulled 
out. 



Scisssors should always be kept sharp, never dull or 
rusty If possible, have two or three different sizes of 
scissors, as in cutting heavy cloth you will have to have 
a very large pair and for lighter work they would be too 
clumsy. Button-hole scissors are a great help in keeping 
button-holes even, if there are a number to work. 



Qllotlj 



Cloth is a fabric that is woven from cotton, wool, 
linen or silk, forming materials of all kinds and descrip- 
tion. The threads in the cloth running lengthwise are 
called the warp and those running crosswise are called 
the woof. Garments should always be cut lengthwise 
of the goods. Cloth is always woven straight but in 
pressing is frequently drawn out of shape. The way to 



find the straight of the cloth so as to be able to cut it 
out on the straight is to ravel off some of the thread un- 
til you come to one that pulls straight across, and even 
though it looks uneven to you it can be straightened by 
stretching it on the bias, and, if wool, dampening and 
pressing; if cotton, washing. 

g^lhag? 

The selvage of any kind of material should always 
be cut off (except for a long plain seam or for joining ruff- 
les,) especially in wool as it is apt to make seams pucker. 
In working with white flannel always cut off the colored 
selvage. 

•JtoBtttott af ifattbfl ani Utark 

This cut shows the position of the hands, work 
and needle in doing the plain running stitch. Hold the 



National 
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Dressmaking 




work straight and tight between the two hands, having 
the needle held in the right hand and make the stitches 
with a slight movement, and pushing the needle with 



National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 



the side of the thimble, not the top. Use a free wrist ex- 
ercise and take as many stitches on the needle at a time 
as possible. Practice this position over and over again 
until you can do it with great ease and rapidity., as in 
this way the eye and the hand will become so familiar 
with the work that they will be able to make stitches of 
equal length (which is of great importance in sewing) 
without even looking at the sewing. 



Sunning S>iitrh 

The running stitch is the simplest of all and is used 
in plain seams, when there is not much strain on the 
goods such as joining light material, making pleats, 
tucks, gathering, running fancy braid on, and cording. 

lark g>titrlj 

This stitch is used in all seams that have to be sewed 
very firmly and takes the place of machine stitching and 
therefore has to be done very evenly and in a straight 
line. To do this take a stitch backward on the upper 
side of the material and twice as long on the under side, 
putting it in exactly the same point where it was drawn 
out from the preceding stitch. 

TJfalf lark £>tttrij 

This stitch is used in place of back stitch where there 
is any great thickness of material to sew through such 
as pleats or gathering of any kind to hold them in place. 



It is made the same as the back stitch only taking the 
stitch one half back and making it represent a running 
stitch on the right side. Be sure and keep these stitches 
even. 



lasting 



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Is used to prepare cloth for sewing. Figure 1 repre- 
sents different styles of basting to be used at different 
times. In ordinary basting use coarse cotton, number 
forty, as fine cotton is apt to cut the goods. In basting 
silk and velvet use silk as cotton will leave a mark. When 
taking basting out, clip the thread every few inches and 
then pull it out. Never pull it out all in one thread. Be 
very careful about this when handling silk or any fancy 
material as it is apt to pull out some of the threads in 
the cloth or mar the silk. Never stitch into line of 
basting. There are three different kinds of basting — 
Regular, Irregular and Crosswise. When the goods 
want to be held very firmly, if it is coarse material, use 
the style of basting represented by "c" and "e," and if 
it is fine material use "d," for long seams and for hems 
use "a" and ~'b," for basting up waist linings use "g," 
and for basting canvas use "f." Use a knot to begin 
with and have the knot on the right side of the goods, 
and when you fasten it off take two stitches, one on 
top of the other. Practise these different bastings until 
you become familiar with each different one, using them 
at the right time. 



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School of 
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10 




Basting and Hems 



ifems 



A hem is a finishing of a piece of cloth by turning it 
down twice. The first crease should be just as narrow 
as you can make it; usually about one-eighth of an inch 
wide. The second crease can be any desired width ac- 
cording to what style of work you are doing. Seams 
or stripes should come under themselves in any style of 
a hem. 



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Fig. 2 represents a rolled hem. This hem need not 
be basted, as it is so narrrow, but roll it along as you 
sew it, holding the needle in the position that is repre- 
sented in the figure. Slant your stitches and be very 
careful to get them even and as small as possible. Be 
careful not to let them show on the right side. 

Namifor IBastefc i$?m 

Fig. 3. — This figure represents a hem one-fourth of 
an inch wide and therefore it should be basted. Other- 
wise the hem is done just the same as the rolled hem. 



Fig. 4. — This figure represents a faced hem and is 
used when there is not enough material to make a genuine 
hem. It is made by adding a piece the desired width of 



the hem on to the edge of the goods and then hemming 
the piece back. 



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School of 
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12 




Blip &tttrlj i%£ m 

Fig. 5. — This figure represents the Slip Stitch Hem 
and is used only in woolen, silk or velvet material where 
the stitches are not supposed to show on either side. 
First baste } r our hem then fasten your thread under the 
first fold. Take one or two stitches on the first fold of 
the hem, then a little farther on one or two stitches on 
the cloth, being careful to keep the stitches straight 
with the threads of the cloth so that they will not show. 

iExtntstmt 1%nn 

Fig. 6. — This figure represents the Extension Hem 
and is used when there is not enough material for the 




National 
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whole width of the hem. Add a piece to the edge of the 
goods twice as wide as you want your hem to be. Sew 
on in a seam on the wrong side of the goods and hem 
down over the seam. 

S^mstitrljtwj 

Fig. 7. — This figure represents hemstitching. First 
draw the threads and then baste the hem down even 
with the outer thread that you have drawn. Hide your 
knot between the folds of the hem, always working from 
left to right, then take your needle and put it under a 
cluster of threads being careful to bring the needle over 
the thread so as to form a loop to catch the cluster, to- 
gether, then take a plain slanting stitch between clusters 
so as to hold the loop firmly and then proceed with the 
next cluster in the same way. Always be careful to take 
the same number of threads in a cluster so that the hem- 
stitching will look even. 

©able IGttmt ifcm 

First draw a thread to be sure that your linen is 
straight and then prepare hem the same as in figure 
three. When you have this all basted down crease the 
linen back even with the inner edge of the hem and over 
hand the two folded edges. Take out basting and press 
seam flat. (For overhanding see page 18.) 

"A" and "B" in Figure TV2 represent two different 
ways of finishing corners. A represents a square corner. 



To do this, turn the corner even with the edge and then 
overhand it along the edge. "B" represents a bias cor- 
ner. Have the join on the bias, right through the cen- 
ter of the corner and then hem it down. Cut off some 

Figure TY2 




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Correspondence 
School of 
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15 



of the goods in the center or else the material would 
have to be turned in too far to get the join on the bias 
and that would make the corner clumsy. "C" repre- 
sents an overhand seam and for description see page 16. 



A seam is where two pieces of cloth are joined. The 
running seam is the simplest of all. (See cut on position 
of hands page 7.) Figures 8 and 9 represent four dif- 
ferent ways of finishing and making seams. 



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School of 
Dressmaking 

16 



"A" represents a French Seam. To do this take a 
narrow seam on the right side of the goods as near to 
the edge as possible, trim off that side and turn the 
goods over and make a seam on the wrong side. Be 
careful to take the seam deep enough to cover the raw 
edge. 

Bmm hritlj iEfcrjPB Oterrast 

"B" represents a plain seam with the raw edges 
overcast. Use the running stitch for this seam. The 
two edges maybe overcast together or pressed open and 
overcast separately. Overcasting is a diagonal stitch 
worked from left to right, and is used to prevent the raw 
edges of a seam from fraying out. The stitches need not 
be made very small but keep them even. When neatly 
done in colored silk it makes a very pretty finish and 
can be used in a great number of places in doing dress- 
making. 

"C" represents a felled seam. After the plain seam 
is sewed, trim off one side and hem the other side down 
flat on to the goods. 

I?ftttm?ft £>mn\ 

"D" represents a hemmed seam. Place the two 
edges of the goods that you are joining together so that 




National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

17 



National 
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School of 
Dressmaking 

18 



one projects about one-fourth of an inch more than the 
other. Make your seam then turn the projecting edge 
down over the other edge and hem back on to the two 
thicknesses of material. This seam does not lie flat but 
resembles a French Seam. 

(§brrljatt&ttt0 ^am 

Overhanding is used when a flat seam is desired. 
(See letter "c" in Figure 714-) It is similar to over- 
casting only the stitches are made very small, and are 
worked from right to left. It is used to join selvages 
together in seams and making ruffles. It is very handy 
in joining material that has any kind of a figure as 
in using the overhand stitching the figures can be easily 
matched. It is also used to join two folded edges in 
place. In basting the seam for overhanding be careful 
and get the sides even. Baste the edge as near as pos- 
sible. In overhanding lace on be careful to catch each 
mesh of the lace in the stitches. 



parkrt 



A placket is an opening made in a garment. 

Fig. 10 represents the style of a placket usually 
used in underclothes. Fig. 11 is the placket pulled down 
so as to show the way it is hemmed or faced. Plackets 
also can be made with an extension added on to the 
under side, usually cut the width of hem. Face the outer 
side back with a piece of its own goods and then back- 
stitch them together at the bottom same as Fig. 10. 



HfUmtrcl §>mm& 



Fig. 12 represents a plain flannel seam finished 
with cat-stitching. Sew your seam, press open and 
cat-stitch along the inside to hold the seam flat. 



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Work your cat-stitching from yon, holding the mate" 
rial over left fore finger. Be sure and keep your stitches 
even as they show on the right side. For cat-stitching 
see page 27. 



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(tiabntb JUatmel Bttxm 



Fig. 13 represents a covered seam. To do this, 
stitch your seam on the right side of the goods, then 
open and press and baste your ribbon down over the 
seam on the right side, being careful to keep all edges of 
the seam beneath the ribbon. Then cat-stitch the rib- 
bon down on both sides. Make the cat-stitching small 
as it gives the seam a better appearance. 



National 
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Fig. 14 is a felled seam and is done the same as "C" 
in Fig. 9, and is a very useful seam in finishing off flan- 
nel goods as it prevents any rough edges. 



lutt0ttJ|OkB 



Fig. 15 represents button-holes. Cut your button- 
hole the desired size. Overcast it around the edge to 
stay it. Commence working from the inner end so as 
to have the strong unbroken part where the strain 
comes. Always use a stouter thread for button-holes. 
Fasten the thread by a few stitches on the edge of the 
button-hole and then draw the needle at right angles to 
button-hole and away from edge of hole. (Notice posi- 
tion of needle in figure.) Throw thread over needle 
from right to left, drawing the needle through the loop. 
Always work your button-hole from right to left. Be 
careful to keep your stitches even and do not draw the 



National 
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thread too tight. Another way to stay a button-hole 
before working it is to hide the knot between the goods 
in the inner corner of button-hole. Draw thread out 
and run it to outer edge of button-hole making one long 
stitch full length of button-hole on upper side. Take 
short horizontal stitch about one-eighth inch long hav- 
ing stitch go on under side in front of button-hole. 




Bring thread out and carry it back in one long parallel 
stitch on outer side, making both sides alike. Then 
make another small horizontal stitch so as to bring 
your needle out where you started from. The object is 
to strengthen the button-hole and make a little heavier 
edge. Then proceed to work the button-hole as de- 
scribed above. 



!b£t\t\ 



Take several stitches over and over in the same 
place, leaving them just a little bit loose and then but- 
ton-hole-stitch them together so as to form a loop. 
When you want an invisible fastening use this eyelet. 
Another way to make an eyelet is to make a very small 
hole right through the goods and then over hand it as 
closely as you possibly can so as to make it very firm. 
This eyelet is not used very much. 

buttons 

In sewing on buttons, instead of starting on the 
wrong side so that your knot will show, start on the 
right side, by taking a small stitch, leaving the knot on 
the right side so it will come under "the button. Now 
place the button on the material laying a pin crossways 
over the button. Use strong thread or silk for sewing 
on the buttons, sewing over the pin from hole to hole. 
If there are four holes in the button make a neat cross, 
and if only two just go over and over Never use a 
double thread as it is apt to knot and break. Fill the 
holes in the button with as many stitches as they can 
hold, remove the pin and the button will give slightly. 
Put your needle down through one of the holes of the 
button then wind it around several times and fasten the 
thread. 



Stttfttng §>mm& 



Fig. 16 on page 22 represents seam binding. For 
this purpose use the regular ribbon seam binding. Hold 



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the ribbon down over the edge of the seam while you 
sew it on. Use a running stitch making the stitches small. 



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Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

24 



iffanry g>titrijeB 




itatljer Btxtth 

Feather stitching is a fanc\ r stitch and can be used 
in all manner of ways to decorate garments. Fig. 17 



represents three different ways of feather stitching. To 
form this stitch start at the furthest point from you and 
bring the needle up from beneath, then take a short 
stitch toward the line along which you are working, 
slanting this stitch somewhat towards you, and throw 
the silk under the point of the needle drawing the needle 
through. The second stitch is on the opposite side of 
the line and slant it so that it will be the reverse of the 
one just taken and make it the same as the other stitch. 
This stitching is represented b3^ "a" in Fig. 17. This can 
be varied by taking two or more stitches on each side of 
the line instead of having just the one single stitch. Rep- 
resented by "b" and "c" in Fig. 17. 

(Eljatn #tttrlj 

Bring your thread up leaving your knot on the 
wrong side of the goods, take a stitch, loop the thread 
over the end of the needle toward you, pull your needle 
out and form the loop. Insert your needle near where 
your thread was pulled out just inside the loop and take 
another stitch forward the same as before. Be very care- 
ful to keep your stitches even so that the loops will be 
the same length. This is represented by "d" in Fig. 17. 

iFaggoi Btxttl} 

<r~— Fig. 18 represents faggot stitching. This stitch is 
used for ornamenting and is very pretty for connecting 
ribbons or folds to form collars, yokes, etc. First baste 
your folds or ribbon down on to a lining, putting them 
the distance apart that you want the width of the fag- 



National 
Correspondence 
School of 
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Correspondence 
School of 
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26 



got stitching. The faggot stitch itself is similar to the 
feather stitch and is worked in the same manner except 
that you put the needle under the fold and take a short 
stitch out from the center instead of toward the center 




and draw your thread down so that it forms the twist 
and then go to the next stitch. Be careful not to draw 
the thread too tight. 

ifonrlj iCttflia 

French Knots are used for ornamenting garments. 
They are represented in Fig. 19 and are made by draw- 
ing the needle through the upper side of the cloth. Hold 
the needle in the right hand and with the left hand take 
hold of the silk near the cloth and twist it two or three 
times around the needle. Then put the point of the 
needle through the cloth again close to the point where 
it was brought out. Draw the twisted silk close around 
it and push the needle through. Hold the twist close to 
the goods with the left hand while you draw the length 
of silk through so that it will not uncoil. When the silk 
is drawn through it holds the knot in place. The size of 
the knot depends on the number of times you wind the 
silk around the needle and also upon the size of the silk 
used. 

©at £>tttdj 

Fig. 20 represents cat-stitching and is formed by 
bringing your thread up from below, leaving the knot 
on the under side of material, at the point nearest you, 
slant the silk across to the opposite side and take a 
short stitch from right to left, having your needle point 
away from the thread, draw the needle out and take 
another slanting stitch. With the same slant cross the 
silk to the other side and proceed as before. 



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Jfalfcl 



To make a fold cut a piece of cloth twice the width 
of the fold, overcast the raw edges together and then 
press the fold flat, having the over casting run down the 
center of the under side of the fold. If a bias fold is de- 
sired, be sure and cut the goods on the true bias. 

(Storks 

Tucks are made by folding the cloth straight and 
basting the required width and then putting them in 
with a running stitch. The principal thing in tucking is 
to make the tucks even. When making tucks in clusters, 



make an uneven 
stance, five, seven 
four, six or eight, 
sents tucks in a 
Have the running 
Tucks can be any 
stitch may be used 
makes a better 
tucking on thick 



number; for in- 
or nine instead of 
This figure repre- 
seven-gored skirt, 
stitches very small, 
size desired. Along 
for basting as it 
guide. Whenever 
material the run- 



ning is made on the under side. After the first tuck is 
creased in it can be used as a guide for the other tucks. 
The width between the tucks may be governed by your 
own individual taste. 

Gathering is used when the material is required to 
fill a small space. It is made by a line of running stitches 



and the thread drawn so as to gather the material into 
the required space. Keep the stitches even in gathering. 
If you do not want very much fulness use very small 
stitches and if you want more fulness use a longer 
stitch. Gathering is joined to plain surface by a run- 
ning stitch if it is not necessary to have it very firm; 
back-stitching and over-handing if firmness is desired. 
Where there is a lot of fulness, and especially in wiry- 
goods, put two rows of gathering one right under the 
other, as otherwise it is hard to keep the gathering in 
place. This is called gaging. 

llankrt g>ttirtj 

This figure represents a blanket stitch; it is used to 



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School of 
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29 




secure and ornament the edge of woolen material. Have 
the edge of the material trimmed off evenly. Start the 



stitch by taking two or three stitches along the edge so 
that when you come around to this place again they will 
be covered with the blanket stitch. Hold the edge of 
the material towards you and w r ork from left to right. 
Insert the needle the depth you want your blanket stitch. 
Draw the needle down and over the thread being very 
careful to let the thread lie loosely over the edge of the 
material. To fasten the thread off at the wrong side 
take a few small running stitches down under the last 
blanket stitch, carrying the needle through to the wrong 
side and catch the thread. Use coarse silk or thread for 
this stitch. 

2Utffle0 anb Kitrijtng 

In making ruffies and ruchiugs always be careful to 
cut the material even as nothing has such an untidy ap- 
pearance as an uneven ruffle or ruching. If you are 
making them on the bias be sure and cut them on the 
true bias. 



Fig. 22 represents a double box pleated ruching. To 
make this ruching, first of all hem it on both sides with 
a rolled hem. This is similar to a box pleat (See Fig. 
25) but as there are two pleats instead of one we cannot 
baste it in the same way, but each pleat has to be basted 
individually. First of all decide how wide you are going 
to have your box pleat and then crease the first pleat 

ONE-HALF THE WIDTH OF THE BOX PLEAT basting that 



down, now crease another pleat right on top of this 
pleat basting it down. This last pleat will form the box 
pleat. Now crease the other side the same as the first 




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31 



side basting them down as you go along. After you 
have them all basted sew through the center with a run- 



ning stitch. Take the basting out, press and sew on to 
the plain surface. If it is stiff material just open up the 
box pleats and crease back the same as in the figure. 
If it is very fine material and will not stay down just 
catch it with a few overhand stitches. Be careful not 
to let the overhand stitches show. 



Fig. 23 represents a gathered ruffle put on to a plain 
surface. This is a very narrow ruffle about an inch and 
a quarter wide, with a heading. Before 3'ou commence 
gathering crease the heading, making it about one quar- 
ter inch deep. When gathering a heading always hold 
the right side toward you. Never make a bias ruffle as 
full as a straight. This ruffle can be made with a raw- 
edge and bound and also by hemming both sides with 
a rolled hem and gathering, allowing for the heading. 
This ruffle can also be used for niching by gathering in 
the center. In putting ruffles on skirts, before you begin 
your gathering, divide your ruffle into halves, quarters 
or eighths. Then divide your skirt into halves, quarters 
or eighths the same as your ruffle, fitting the division 
of the ruffle into the same division of the skirt, so as to 
keep the gathering even. The length of thread is just a 
little longer than the length of each section that the 
ruffle is put on. 

Fig. 24 represents a knife pleated ruffle. This ruffle is 
made by first hemming the goods and then creasing the 



folds in, the under side of each fold being ev en with the 
outside fold of the previous one. Keep them even; the top 
can be either finished off with a heading or by binding. 




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Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

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lax fimUh Euffl? 

Fig. 25 represents box a pleated ruffle. To make this 
ruffle, first hem it, then baste a deep fold or tuck the 
depth of the width of your box pleat and press the fold 
open having the center of the fold the center of the box 
pleat. Baste each one the same way until you have 



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Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

34 



finished your ruffle. The space between the box pleats 
may be governed by your own taste. Box pleats can be 
used in many other ways, such as in shirt waists, skirts, 
etc. 




g>Ijtrrttuj 



Shirring is similar to gathering. Do it on the same 
order. 

fining hrittj (Eurka 

Fig. 26 is very effective and very easy to do. It is 
done simply by taking a tuck before you begin to do the 



shirring. This tuck in the illustration is y2-inch wide. 
Do not have them any wider as if you do they will not 
stand out well. ^4-inch makes a nice width. 
Fig. 26 




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3Uat Qutktb $fpnittg 

Fig. 27 is very pretty for a dainty waist made out of 



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School of 
Dressmaking 

36 



soft material. This is made by creasing the tucks exact- 
ly as if they were not going to be shirred. Lay them 
flat. Here the space between the tucks is just the width 
of the tucks. They can be placed closer together but it 
makes a very heavy effect. After each tuck is creased it 
can be gathered with very small stitches, but do not 
draw them up until all are done. 

(Enrbtng 

Fig. 28 presents a very smart appearance and can be 
used in any soft material and even in very inexpensive 






p 



material. This can be varied by putting in different 
sizes of cord and also b\ r changing the grouping. Where 
the rows are placed closely together a finer cord is bet- 
ter. 



{Haiti i^ljtrrttuj 

Fig. 29 is plain shirring done in groups with three 
rows of shirring in each group. This can be used in all 
manner of different ways only remember that the odd 
numbers are always prettier than the even. In shirring 
make all your stitches small and keep them even. 



National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

37 




Bwnrkmg 



Smocking is used in numerous ways and sizes for or- 
namentation. Always useunfigured material for smock- 
ing as figured does not have a pretty effect. Use all 



National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

38 





manner of soft materials. China silk is the most effect- 
ive. Fig. 30 represents how to mark for smocking. These 
dots are one-half inch apart both ways. The most im- 
portant thing in smocking is to do your marking evenly. 
Mark your dots with a lead pencil but if the material 
will not take this marking use thread. After the mate- 
rial has been marked the process of sewing comes next. 


• • • 

• 


Fig. 30 
To do this start at the top catching the first two dots 
together with three close overhand stitches, one right 
on top of the other, skip one space and sew the next 

the needle through so that you can carry the thread 
along on the under side to the second dot and then 





continue to the end of the row. Now start at the sec- 
ond row and do this in just the same way only jump 
the first dot and join the second and third in starting 




National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

39 



National 
Correspondence 
School of 
Dressmaking 

40 



the row instead of the first and second. In this way 
it forms the diamond. If you want your diamond to 
be larger when marking, make the space between the 
dots a little bit wider and if you want 3'our diamonds 
longer, but still the same width, just make the space be- 
tween the rows wider. Fig. 31 represents the smocking 
when it is finshed for this marking. If you do not want 
the smocking to form a point, when marking carry the 
dotted lines all the same length, instead of to a point. 
There are a great many different figures that can be 
formed in smocking and if you are careful in marking 
you can make almost any style or size of smocking that 
you desire. 



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